Master of Science

A Master of Science (Latin: Magister Scientiae), abbreviated as MS, MSc, SM, or ScM, is a master's degree. It usually focuses on developing advanced knowledge and analytical skills within a specific scientific, technical, or professional field. It typically emphasizes research, quantitative methods, and critical thinking, combining theoretical foundations with practical application to prepare graduates for specialized careers, doctoral study, or professional advancement.

The Master of Science degree was introduced and first awarded by the University of Michigan in 1858.^[1][2]

Algeria follows the Bologna Process.

Australian universities commonly have coursework or research-based Master of Science courses for graduate students. They typically run for 1–2 years full-time, with varying amounts of research involved.

All Bangladeshi private and public universities have Master of Science courses as postgraduate degree. These include most of the major state-owned colleges. A number of private colleges also do offer MS degrees. After passing Bachelor of Science, any student becomes eligible to study in this discipline.

Like all EU member states, Belgium follows the Bologna Process. In Belgium, the typical university track involved obtaining two degrees, being a two-year Kandidaat prerequisite track (replaced by Bachelor) followed by a two- or three-year Licentiaat track. The latter was replaced by the Master of Science (MSc) academic degree. This system was not exclusive to scientific degrees and was also used for other programs like law and literature.

In Canada, Master of Science (MSc) degrees may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based or (more typically) a mixture. Master's programs typically take one to three years to complete and the completion of a scientific thesis is often required. Admission to a master's program is contingent upon holding a four-year university bachelor's degree. Some universities require a master's degree in order to progress to a doctoral program (PhD).

En la provincia de Quebec, la Maestría en Ciencias sigue los mismos principios que en el resto de Canadá. Sin embargo, existe una excepción en cuanto a la admisión a un programa de maestría. Dado que los estudiantes quebequenses completan de dos a tres años de estudios preuniversitarios antes de ingresar a la universidad, tienen la oportunidad de obtener una licenciatura en tres años en lugar de cuatro. Algunas licenciaturas, como la Licenciatura en Educación y la Licenciatura en Ingeniería, requieren cuatro años de estudio. Tras obtener su licenciatura, los estudiantes pueden ser admitidos a un programa de posgrado para, eventualmente, obtener una maestría .

Si bien algunos estudiantes completan su maestría, otros la utilizan como puente hacia programas de investigación doctoral. Tras un año de estudio e investigación en la maestría, muchos estudiantes cumplen los requisitos para solicitar el ingreso directo a un programa de Doctorado en Filosofía (PhD), sin necesidad de obtener previamente la maestría en ciencias.

Por lo general, las universidades chilenas han utilizado "Magíster" para referirse a un máster , pero aparte de eso es similar al resto de Sudamérica.

Al igual que todos los estados miembros de la UE, la República de Chipre sigue el Proceso de Bolonia. Las universidades chipriotas utilizan el título de "Magíster Scientiae" o "Artium" (Máster en Artes/Ciencias) para otorgar un máster con entre 90 y 120 créditos ECTS y una duración de los estudios de entre 1, 2 y 5 años.

Al igual que todos los estados miembros de la UE, la República Checa y Eslovaquia siguen el Proceso de Bolonia. Tanto la República Checa como Eslovaquia otorgan dos tipos diferentes de títulos de máster; en ambos casos, se otorga el título de Mgr. o Ing., que se antepone al nombre.

Antes de las reformas para cumplir con el Proceso de Bolonia, un máster solo se podía obtener tras cinco años de estudio ininterrumpido. Con el nuevo sistema, se necesitan solo dos años, pero se requiere haber completado previamente una licenciatura de tres años ( título Bc. ). Para obtener el título, es necesario redactar una tesis (tanto en máster como en licenciatura) y aprobar los exámenes finales. Generalmente, los exámenes finales abarcan las principales áreas de estudio del programa, es decir, se exige al estudiante que demuestre sus conocimientos en las asignaturas cursadas durante los dos o tres años de estudio. Los exámenes también incluyen la defensa de la tesis ante un tribunal académico.

Los títulos de Ing. (Ingeniero) se suelen otorgar a quienes obtienen una maestría en ciencias naturales o en programas de estudio con un fuerte componente matemático, mientras que el título de Mgr. (Magister) se suele otorgar a quienes obtienen una maestría en ciencias sociales, humanidades y artes.

The Master of Science (MSc) is an academic degree for post-graduate candidates or researchers, it usually takes from 4 to 7 years after passing the Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Master programs are awarded in many sciences in the Egyptian Universities. A completion of the degree requires finishing a pre-master studies followed by a scientific thesis or research. All MSc degree holders are allowable to take a step forward in the academic track to get the PhD degree.

Like all EU member states, Finland follows the Bologna Process. The Master of Science (MSc) academic degree usually follows the Bachelor of Science (BSc) studies which typically last three years. For the completion of both the bachelor and the master studies the student must accumulate a total of 300 ECTS credits, thus most Masters programs are two-year programs with 120 credits. The completion of a scientific thesis is required.

Like all EU member states, Germany follows the Bologna Process. The Master of Science (MSc) academic degree replaces the once common Diplom or Magister programs that typically lasted four to five years. It is awarded in science-related studies with a high percentage of mathematics. For the completion the student must accumulate 300 ECTS Credits, thus most Masters programs are two-year programs with 120 credits. The completion of a scientific thesis is required.

In Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the Master of Science or Magister is a postgraduate degree lasting two to four years.^[3] The admission to a master's program (Spanish: Licenciatura; Portuguese: Mestrado) requires the full completion of a four to five year long undergraduate degree, bachelor's degree, engineer's degree or a licentiate of the same length. Defense of a research thesis is required. All master's degrees qualify for a doctorate program. Depending on the country, one ECTS credit point can equal on average between 22 and 30 actual study hours. In most of these cases, the number of required attendance hours to the university classes will be at least half of that (one ECTS will mean around 11 to 15 mandatory hours of on-site classes).^[4]

In Slavic countries in the European southeast (particularly former Yugoslavian republics), the education system was largely based on the German university system (largely due to the presence and influence of the Austria-Hungary Empire^[5] in the region). Prior to the implementation of the Bologna Process, academic university studies comprised a 4–5 year-long graduate diplom program, which could have been followed by a 2–4 year long magistar program and then later with 2–5 year long doctor of science program.

After the Bologna Process implementation, again based on the German implementation, Diplom titles and programs were replaced by entirely professional bachelor's and master's programs. The studies are structured such that a master program lasts long enough for the student to accumulate a total of 300 ECTS credits, so its duration would depend on a number of credits acquired during the bachelor studies. Pre-Bologna magistar programs were abandoned – after earning an MSc degree and satisfying other academic requirements a student could proceed to earn a doctor of science degree directly, or skip MSc if the diplom program lasted more than 3 years as it was possible to do so for some time.

In Guyana, all universities, including University of Guyana, Texila American University, American International School of Medicine have Master of Science courses as postgraduate degrees. Students who have completed undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree are eligible to study in this discipline.

In India, universities offer MSc programs usually in sciences discipline. Generally, post-graduate scientific courses lead to MSc degree while post-graduate engineering courses lead to ME or MTech degree. For example, a master's in automotive engineering would normally be an ME or MTech, while a master's in physics would be an MSc. A few top universities also offer combined undergraduate-postgraduate programs leading to a master's degree which is known as integrated masters.

A Master of Science in Engineering (MSEngg) degree is also offered in India. It is usually structured as an engineering research degree, lesser than PhD and considered to be parallel to MPhil degree in humanities and science. Some institutes such as IITs offer an MS degree for postgraduate engineering courses. This degree is considered a research-oriented degree whereas MTech or ME degree is usually not a research degree in India. MSc degree is also awarded by various IISERs which are one of the top institutes in India.

In Iran, similar to Canada, Master of Science (MSc) or in Iranian form Kārshenāsi-e arshad degrees may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based, or most commonly a mixture. Master's programs typically take two to three years to complete and the completion of a scientific thesis is often required.

Like all EU member states, Ireland follows the Bologna Process. In Ireland, Master of Science (MSc) may be course-based with a research component or entirely research based. The program is most commonly a one-year program and a thesis is required for both course-based and research based degrees.

In Israel, Master of Science (MSc) may be entirely course-based or include research. The program is most commonly a two-year program and a thesis is required only for research based degrees.

Like all EU member states, Italy follows the Bologna Process. The degree Master of Science is awarded in the Italian form, Laurea Magistrale. Before the current organization of academic studies there was the Laurea. According to the subject the laurea could require four, five or six years of study. The laurea was subsequently split into a "laurea triennale" (three years) and a "laurea magistrale" (two more years).

In Nepal, universities offer the Master of Science degree usually in science and engineering areas. Tribhuvan University offers MSc degree for all the science and engineering courses. Pokhara University and Purbanchal University offer ME for engineering and MSc for science. Kathmandu University offers MS by Research and ME degrees for science and engineering. Students can do postgraduate degree in any fields of science like chemistry, biology, physics etc.

Al igual que todos los Estados miembros de la UE, los Países Bajos siguen el Proceso de Bolonia. Anteriormente, los graduados de universidades de ciencias aplicadas (HBO) no podían usar títulos como el de Máster en Ciencias (MSc), ya que las instituciones HBO no son formalmente universidades, sino instituciones politécnicas de educación superior. Sin embargo, desde 2014, los títulos académicos se otorgan a cualquier graduado universitario. ^{[ 6 ]}

Sin embargo, los títulos académicos más antiguos que se utilizan en los Países Bajos son:

• ingeniero (abreviado como ir.) (para graduados que siguieron un programa técnico o agrícola)
• meester (abreviado como r.) (para graduados que cursaron un programa de LLM en derecho)
• doctorandus (abreviado como drs.) (en todos los demás casos).

Quienes ostentan estos títulos pueden utilizar el título anterior, ya sea MSc, LL.M o MA, pero no ambos para el mismo campo de estudio.

Las universidades neozelandesas suelen ofrecer másteres en ciencias, tanto con cursos como con programas de investigación, para estudiantes de posgrado. Estos programas suelen durar dos años a tiempo completo e incluyen diferentes niveles de investigación.

Noruega se rige por el Proceso de Bolonia. En ingeniería, se ha introducido recientemente el título académico de Máster en Ciencias, que ha sustituido a las anteriores titulaciones de « Sivilingeniør » (ingeniero, también conocido como máster en ingeniería) y «Hovedfag» (máster académico). Ambas se otorgaban tras cinco años de estudios universitarios y requerían la elaboración de una tesis científica.

El título de «Siv.ing» es un reconocimiento tradicionalmente otorgado a estudiantes de ingeniería que completan una formación de cinco años en la Universidad Noruega de Ciencia y Tecnología ( NTNU ) u otros programas universitarios considerados equivalentes en mérito académico. Históricamente, no se exigía una licenciatura, y el programa actual consiste en una maestría de cinco años. El título de «Siv.ing» está siendo gradualmente reemplazado (por ahora, complementado) por el título de «M.Sc.». En general, el título de «Siv.ing» se conserva con fervor por tradición. En el ámbito académico, el nuevo programa ofrece licenciaturas de tres años y maestrías de dos años. Se otorga en las áreas de ciencias naturales, matemáticas e informática. Se requiere la realización de una tesis científica. Todas las maestrías están diseñadas para certificar un nivel de estudios y permitir el acceso a un programa de doctorado.

El título en inglés para quienes cursan un máster en administración de empresas, denominado en noruego "Siviløkonom", es el máster en ciencias empresariales. Además, existe, por ejemplo, el máster en administración de empresas (MBA), un máster con un enfoque práctico, pero con menos matemáticas y econometría, debido a sus requisitos de admisión menos específicos y a su menor énfasis en la investigación.

Pakistan inherited its conventions pertaining to higher education from United Kingdom after independence in 1947. Master of Science degree is typically abbreviated as MSc (as in the United Kingdom) and which is awarded after 16 years of education (equivalent with a bachelor's degree in the US and many other countries). Recently, in pursuance to some of the reforms by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (the regulatory body of higher education in Pakistan), the traditional 2-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree has been replaced by the 4-year Bachelor of Science degree, which is abbreviated as BS to enable the Pakistani degrees with the rest of the world. Subsequently, students who pass a 4-year BS degree that is awarded after 16 years of education are then eligible to apply for MS degree, which is considered at par with Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree.

Like all EU member states, Poland follows the Bologna Process. The Polish equivalent of Master of Science is "magister" (abbreviated "mgr", written pre-nominally much like "Dr"). Starting in 2001, the MSc programs typically lasting 5 years began to be replaced as below:

• 3-year associates programs, (licentiate degree termed "licencjat" in Polish. No abbreviated pre-nominal or title.)
• 3.5-year engineer programs (termed "inżynier", utilizing the pre-nominal abbreviation "inż.")
• 2-year master programs open to both "licencjat" and "inż." graduates.
• 1.5-year master programs open only to "inż." graduates.

The degree is awarded predominantly in the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, economics, as well as in the arts and other disciplines. Those who graduate from an engineering program prior to being awarded a master's degree are allowed to use the "mgr inż." pre-nominal ("master engineer"). This is most common in engineering and agricultural fields of study. Defense of a research thesis is required. All master's degrees in Poland qualify for a doctorate program.

The title of "master" was introduced by Alexander I at 24 January 1803. The Master had an intermediate position between the candidate and doctor according to the decree "About colleges structure". The master's degree was abolished from 1917 to 1934.

Al igual que todos los Estados miembros de la UE, España sigue el Proceso de Bolonia. El Máster en Ciencias (MSc) es un programa reconocido oficialmente por el Ministerio de Educación español . Suele tener una duración de uno o dos años a tiempo completo. Está dirigido a candidatos sin experiencia laboral que hayan finalizado recientemente sus estudios de grado. El título de Máster en Ciencias se puede obtener en cualquier área de estudio. Es requisito indispensable para acceder a un doctorado. En España, los títulos de Máster en Ciencias (MSci), Máster en Filosofía (MPhil) y Diploma de Estudios Avanzados (DEA) son equivalentes.

Al igual que todos los estados miembros de la UE, Suecia sigue el Proceso de Bolonia. El título académico de Máster en Ciencias (Master of Science), al igual que en Alemania, se ha introducido recientemente en Suecia. Los estudiantes que cursan programas de Máster en Ciencias de la Ingeniería obtienen tanto el título de Máster en Ciencias (Master of Science Degree) en inglés como su equivalente sueco, el "Teknologisk masterexamen". Por otro lado, el título de "Civilingenjör" (Ingeniero Civil) tiene una duración mínima de cinco años. ^{[ 7 ]}

La Maestría en Ciencias es un título que solo se puede cursar en universidades públicas. El programa suele durar dos años, pero puede extenderse a tres o cuatro. Para acceder a un programa específico de Maestría en Ciencias, el estudiante debe haber obtenido una licenciatura. La Maestría en Ciencias es principalmente un programa de investigación, a excepción de algunos programas impartidos en colaboración con universidades extranjeras. El estudiante generalmente cursa asignaturas durante el primer año y posteriormente debe preparar una tesis de investigación. Se recomienda publicar dos artículos de investigación, lo que mejorará la calificación final.

El Máster en Ciencias (MSc) es típicamente un título de posgrado impartido, que incluye clases, exámenes y una tesina de proyecto (que normalmente ocupa un tercio del programa). Los programas de máster suelen requerir un mínimo de 1 año de estudio a tiempo completo (180 créditos del Reino Unido, de los cuales 150 deben ser de nivel de máster) y, a veces, hasta 2 años de estudio a tiempo completo (o el período equivalente a tiempo parcial). ^{[ 8 ]} Los másteres impartidos se clasifican normalmente en Aprobado, Notable y Sobresaliente (aunque algunas universidades no otorgan Notable). ^{[ 9 ]} Algunas universidades también ofrecen programas de máster por investigación, donde se realiza un proyecto o conjunto de proyectos más extensos a tiempo completo; los másteres por investigación normalmente son de aprobado/suspenso, aunque algunas universidades pueden ofrecer un sobresaliente. ^{[ 5 ] [ 10 ]}

The more recent Master in Science (MSci) degree (Master of Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge^[11]), is an undergraduate (UG) level integrated master's degree offered by UK institutions since the 1990s. It is offered as a first degree with the first three (four in Scotland) years similar to a BSc course and a final year (120 UK credits) at master's level, including a dissertation.^[8][12] The final MSci qualification is thus at the same level as a traditional MSc.^[13]

The Master of Science (Magister Scientiæ) degree is normally a full-time two-year degree often abbreviated MS. It is the primary type in most subjects and may be entirely course-based, entirely research-based or (more typically) a combination of the two. The combination often involves writing and defending a thesis or completing a research project which represents the culmination of the material learned.

Admission to a master's program is normally contingent upon holding a bachelor's degree. Progressing to a doctoral program may require a master's degree. In some fields or graduate programs, work on a doctorate can begin immediately after the bachelor's degree. Some programs provide for a joint bachelor's and master's degree after about five years. Some universities use the Latin degree names and due to the flexibility of word order in Latin, Artium Magister (AM) or Scientiæ Magister (SM or ScM) may be used in some institutions.

• Master of Science in Accounting
• Master of Science in Administration
• Master of Science in Computer Science
• Master of Science in Corporate Communication
• Master of Science in Economics
• Master of Science in Engineering
• Master of Science in Finance
• Master of Science in Foreign Service
• Master of Science in Information Systems
• Master of Science in Information Technology
• Master of Science in Management
• Master of Science in Nursing
• Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
• Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
• Master of Science in Project Management
• Master of Science in Systems Management